


Burn

by thedevilwearswestwood



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, mollan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-07-15 10:52:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7219525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedevilwearswestwood/pseuds/thedevilwearswestwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly Hooper was simply a pawn in James Moriarty's game with Sherlock Holmes. But after a chance meeting with her, Sebastian Moran finds himself unable to follow through and eliminate her when Jim gives him the order. Thinking his sniper has a crush he gives him a cruel ultimatum. He can confess his feelings to the shy pathologist and if she returns his feelings he can allow her to live. But if she turns him away he must follow through on their plan and eliminate her as he would any other target. So what happens when Sebastian takes it upon himself to make sure he wins this game with his boss?</p><p>I'm the worst at summaries, I apologize.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Molly Hooper was standing outside the door of an upscale apartment building. She was supposed to be meeting her date there, but a nervous pit in her stomach was keeping her from ringing the buzzer to his apartment.“Get a grip Molly.” She scolded herself, pushing the button to let him know she was here. It’s not that she was nervous to be alone with him in his apartment. On their last date they’d wound up at her flat and watched a few episodes of Glee. He hadn’t even pressured her to do anything she didn’t want to.

She knew the nervous sensation was because it was their third date. And the third date always seemed to be her unlucky number. Anytime she began talking to someone new they would would make it to three dates and then they’d end up never going out again. The door buzzed as it unlocked for her and she quickly hurried inside.

“Molly, come in.” Jim was waiting in the doorway of his apartment, a warm smile playing across his lips..

“Hi.” She smiled, her stomach twisting nervously as she stepped inside his apartment. She immediately felt out of place as she took a look around. “Wow, you must make a lot in IT.” She covered her mouth, embarrassment heating up her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that.”

“I keep myself busy at work.” A friendly smile lit up his features, putting her back at ease. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good, thank you.” She handed her coat over to him and watched as he hung it up on a coat rack. He was always a gentleman around her, something she hadn’t been able to find in men lately. He motioned for her to follow him and once his back was turned she took the opportunity to look around the apartment. It was immaculately clean, everything seemed to be in the perfect place. She wouldn’t be surprised if she found out he’d hired an interior decorator to set up his apartment, it was almost too perfect.

“Can I get you a drink?”

Molly followed his gaze to the bar on the other side of his front room and shrugged. “I’ll just have whatever you’re having.” She sat down on his sofa, smoothing out the skirt of her dress once she crossed her legs. Jim opened up a bottle of a caramel colored liquor and poured out three glasses.

“Three glasses?” Molly asked, taking one from him and holding it up to her nose. It smelled sweet and almost woodsy.

“It’s scotch.” Jim cut in once he saw her puzzled expression. “I have a business associate over right now. But he’ll be leaving shortly.” His tone made it clear he wasn’t going to elaborate any further so she left the subject alone.

She couldn’t help but find it a little strange that he had a coworker and a date over at the same time. But then again, maybe it wasn’t as strange as she thought. She _had_ been out of the dating scene for a while now. Maybe they’d been having a meeting or something and it just carried over into when he’d told her to come over.

Bringing the glass to her lips she took a tiny sip and forced a tight lipped smile. “That’s good.” She lied. She always tried her best to be polite.

“I would hope so. It’s a very expensive bottle of scotch.” Jim took a large drink of his own glass, clearly savoring it.

She took another small sip and wished that she had asked for something else. Or that she at least had something to chase it with. She didn’t mind taking shots when she was out, but she never willingly drank straight alcohol like this.

“I’m going to head out now.” A man’s voice rang out from behind her and she turned to see who was speaking. She assumed this was the business associate Jim had mentioned. She smiled, her stomach flipping around nervously like a swarm of butterflied had been unleashed. Whoever he was, he was gorgeous. He was tall with dark blonde hair styled back into a style reminiscent of a pompadour, but messier, with short faded sides. He had a scar crossing through his left eyebrow and extending just slightly down his cheek and she couldn't help but imagine how he'd received it.

“I poured a glass of scotch for you if you care to stay for a drink.” Jim motioned to the glass of scotch on the glass table in front of them.

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt your date.” He smiled at Molly. She thought he looked amused as he glanced between her and Jim, but maybe he just found it awkward interrupting their date.

“Then again, you know what I say; There’s a special rung in hell reserved for people who waste good scotch.”He walked over to take the last glass of scotch and sat next to Molly on the small loveseat. He inhaled a deep whiff of the scotch, closing his eyes as he savored it.

“I’ll only stay if it’s okay with you.”

Molly looked up from studying her feet to see he was staring at her. “Oh, m-me?” She stammered timidly. “I don’t mind at all.”

“I’m Sebastian.” He held his hand out and Molly shook it.

“I’m Molly. Nice to meet you.” She was worried she’d be blushing again with the way he was staring at her. His blue eyes were intense, and she was having trouble focusing on anything else.

“The pleasure is all mine. It’s not often I get to see Jim on dates.” Sebastian settled back comfortably on the sofa he was sharing with Molly. She couldn’t help but notice the short, unamused, look Jim shot him. She couldn’t tell for sure, but he seemed upset. Then again, he was just as awkward as she was, he was probably just worried Sebastian might embarrass him.

“Well there’s nothing wrong with that.” Molly felt the need to come to Jim’s defense. After all, she didn’t go on many dates herself.

“Of course not.” Sebastian laughed loudly, “I’m just saying it’s a very rare occurrence.”

“Drink your scotch and shut up.” Jim rolled his eyes. “Ignore him Molly, he’s far too uncivilized for normal human beings to put up with.”

“So do you two work together?” She hoped the change of subject would help Jim lighten up. He was definitely acting far less sweet in front of Sebastian than he had been on previous dates.

“Sometimes.” Jim’s answer was short, though he followed it with an apologetic smile aimed at her.

“Oh, don’t let him downplay it. We go way back.” Sebastian took a large drink of his scotch and grinned. “Are you embarrassed of me?” He teased Jim, a large smile playing across his lips.

“Embarrassed might not be the right word.” Jim shot back, locking eyes with Sebastian.

“Well you caught yourself a keeper with this one.” Sebastian nudged Molly, “He’s just a ball of fun isn’t he?”

Molly looked back and forth between the two, not sure what to say. The tension was clear, though she didn’t understand why. She assumed Sebastian was just joking around. But clearly, joking around or not, Jim wasn’t enjoying it and she felt bad.

“He’s sweet?” She offered weakly in Jim’s defense. Sebastian’s eyes widened and he looked over at Jim before bursting into loud laughter.

“Alright Bastian, I think you’ve had your fun.” Jim pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “You’re making an ass of yourself.”

“It’s okay, really. It’s nice.” Molly took a larger sip of her drink, hoping it would make this interaction a little less awkward the more she drank. “It’s nice to see you with a friend, I think that can say a lot about someone.”

Both men turned their full attention to her. Jim’s eyebrows wrinkled in confusion and Sebastian covered his mouth, hiding the smirk playing at his lips. “All he says about me is that I need to get better friends.” Jim countered rather quickly.

“Okay, well in that case. She’s your date tonight.” Sebastian motioned to Molly, “What does she say about you?”

“That I have good taste.” He answered immediately. Molly felt herself warm at his words. Did he really think that about her? She was so used to hearing rude comments about herself from Sherlock Holmes that Jim’s words caught her off guard. Not that she held that against the detective, she knew he didn’t mean to be rude.

Sometimes she wished she did hold it against him. It’d be better than pining over someone who clearly saw nothing positive about her. Well, nothing positive besides the fact that she let him take body parts to study and allowed him to have full use of her lab. Not that he ever thanked her.

A buzzing noise broke the awkward silence that had formed and Jim cast molly a remorseful look, “Excuse me.” He took out his phone and hurried out of the room as he answered it, leaving Molly alone with Sebastian.

“Sorry for crashing your date.” Sebastian apologized to her once they were alone. “I promise I’ll excuse myself when he comes back so you two lovebirds can be alone.” He shot back the last of his scotch and set the empty glass on the table.

“It’s really okay.” Molly played with the hemline of her skirt. “We’re hardly lovebirds. This is only our third date.”

“And what’s your consensus on him?”

“He’s nice.” She noticed the way he smirked and tried to hide it again and she struggled to fight off being annoyed.

“I’m sure he is.” It didn’t escape her notice how disingenuous he sounded, but Jim came back before she could ask him about it.

“I’m so sorry Molly, I just got an emergency call from one of my clients. They had a complete server meltdown and I need to head over there right now. Can we reschedule?”

“Oh… of course.” Molly set down her glass of scotch and stood up. “That’s perfectly fine, I understand.”

“Anything I need to help with?” Sebastian sounded serious for the first time this whole evening. His whole posture shifted as he waited for Jim’s response.

“No, that’s not necessary. But would you mind taking Molly home for me? Make sure she gets there safely.”

Sebastian nodded obediently and Molly shook her head in protest. “I don’t need him to take me home, I can call a cab.” She didn’t understand these two at all. One minute Sebastian is driving him crazy and teasing him and the next he’s all business and willing to do whatever Jim asks him. To say they had an odd dynamic seemed like an understatement.

Jim walked over to Molly, taking her hands in his own. “It’s not a problem, I’d prefer it if he took you home. Can we get dinner tomorrow night?”

“Sure, that sounds great.”

“The fox? Sixish?”

Molly nodded again and Jim squeezed her hands before letting go. “Text me when you get home so I know you got there safely. I’ve got to go. Sebastian lock up when you two leave.”

“Bye.” Molly called after him quietly. She knew it would have been awkward if he kissed her in front of Sebastian but she couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t even try to kiss her goodbye. It was probably just her third date paranoia kicking in, but she still felt disappointed.

“You really don’t need to take me home.” She turned her attention back to Sebastian. “It’s totally unnecessary, I can get myself home.”

“It’s late. It’s not safe for you to go out by yourself. You never know what could happen.” His tone made it clear he wasn’t going to budge. “Plus, I don’t mind. Are you finished with your scotch?” he nodded towards her still half full glass on the table.

“What? Oh, yeah.” She nodded once she caught up to his train of thought. Sebastian downed it in one shot and brought the glasses back to the bar. “Want me to call a cab?”

He shook his head, “Nah, not necessary. I’m sure we can just flag one down. Are you ready to go then?”

“Yes? I mean, we should. Shouldn’t we?”

“Sure.” He responded with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “Come on.”

Molly followed him out of Jim’s apartment, putting on her coat once they got outside. The two walked in silence until they reached the corner of the block. “Can I ask you something?” Molly was first to break the silence once she mustered the courage to ask him her question.

“Sure.”

“What did you mean when you said you’re sure Jim’s a nice guy?”

“I meant that I’m sure he’s a nice guy. There was no secret meaning.” Sebastian smiled as he glanced over at her.

“I don’t believe you. You didn’t sound like you meant it.”

“I was just joking around. I’m sure he’s great. He probably shows you a totally different side than I see anyways.” Sebastian brushed her concerns off and focused on waving down an oncoming taxi.

“So you meant nothing by it?”

“Nothing at all love, sorry.” He opened the door to the taxi and let her slide in first. Molly gave the driver her address and settled back into the seat. With both of them crammed in the backseat of the taxi she was acutely aware of how close they were. She snuck a glance at him, smiling awkwardly as he caught her looking. Studying her feet, she tried to quench the guilt twisting in her gut. She knew she shouldn’t be checking out Jim’s friend.

Even if they weren’t exclusive or aything, it was still wrong. She wouldn’t appreciate it if Jim was checking out one of her friends. But she just couldn’t help it. Sebastian was attractive, exceptionally so at that. And as sweet as Jim was she just didn’t find herself overwhelmingly attracted to him. Not in a physical sense at least. His personality was so kind and he seemed so caring. But if she was being honest, he was almost too safe.

Everything about him was gentle, and almost… boring. Nothing about Sebastian seemed boring. From the way he’d been teasing Jim tonight, to the loud laughter that lit up his whole face, he seemed fun. And he certainly didn’t seem safe. If anything he seemed… dangerous. The word popped into her head, an unwelcome addition to her thoughts.

“So, what do you and Jim do on your dates? I’m curious.” Sebastian broke the heavy silence that had settled between them. “I just can’t picture him on a date.”

“He really doesn’t ever go on dates?”

“Not often, no.”

“I don’t know. Normal stuff I guess. We got coffee the first time, and the second time we got dinner and then went to my flat and watched some television.” Molly was trying very hard to seem like she was experienced with dating. He didn’t need to know that she had no idea what normal stuff even entailed anymore. She doubted things had changed much anyways, it hadn’t been that long since she’d been in a relationship. It had only been a few years.

“He came over to your flat huh?” The insinuation was clear in both the tone of his voice, and the way the corners of his mouth ticked up in playful amusement.

“We didn’t have sex.” Molly snapped, her face getting warm. “It was only the second date.”

“I’ve had sex with girls after two hours, let alone two dates.” His comment had the desired effect on Molly. She opened her mouth to say something and shut it again immediately. She knew her face was probably scarlet and her hands were fidgeting in her lap, playing with the skirt of her dress again.

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with that. But I don’t do that.” She finally gathered herself enough to respond. Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at her and smiled. He hadn’t been expecting that answer from her. He’d pegged her as the puritanical, judgmental sort. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with that either.” Sebastian chuckled and met her eyes, holding her gaze a moment longer than what seemed normal. “I just wanted to see you blush.”

Molly found herself at a loss of words as she met his eyes. Was he flirting with her? Or maybe he was just moving on to teasing her now that Jim wasn’t here to be his target. She let out a deep breath of relief when she saw the taxi was pulling onto her street. “Do I make you nervous?” his eyes lit up at the idea.

“A little bit.” She answered honestly, not breaking eye contact with him. The small bit of space between them seemed heavy and uncomfortable, the sudden silence not helping matters. “Oh look at that. This is my apartment. Thanks for seeing me home, it was sweet of you.” The words rushed out in a jumble.

She reached into her purse to get her wallet and one of Sebastian’s hands settled over her own to stop her. He handed money to the driver, telling him to keep the tip. “You don’t have to do that. I can pay for my own taxi.”

“I’m nothing if not a gentleman.” Sebastian answered, leaning over her and pushing the door open. Molly held her breath as their faces were uncomfortably close. She hurried to slide out of the taxi, taking a quick deep breath to compose herself. “You don’t need to walk me to my apartment door. I think I can manage.” She spoke quickly, surprised to see him climbing out of the taxi as well.

“I’m quite sure you could.”

“Look, I appreciate you taking me home and paying for the taxi, it really was nice. But I have it from here.”

“Are you afraid of me seeing where you live?” Honestly, she wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not. “Do you think I’m dangerous?”

There was that word again. He certainly gave off that vibe. But she wasn't worried he’d hurt her or anything. If anything he seemed more dangerous in the sense that he knew he was gorgeous and she could tell he knew how to work that to his advantage.

“No. That’s not it. It’s just… you’ve done enough. You really don’t have to.”

He held his hands up in defeat. “Fair enough, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He ran a hand through his hair, and smiled.

Molly bit her lip, fighting the urge to just let him walk her up to her apartment. Truthfully she wouldn’t even mind inviting him up for a quick drink. But she knew that would be inappropriate. Their conversation had already tiptoed the line of what was appropriate as it is.

Sebastian hid his amusement as she struggled over what to say. He knew Jim would expect him to see her all the way to her apartment door. And then he’d be expected to report to him that she was safely there. He had to make sure his toy was okay until he was done with her after all.

He found that the thought bothered him, but he pushed it away. That’s what Jim did. He never let it bother him before, and he wasn't about to let it bother him now.

It didn’t matter anyways. Once he cast her aside she’d move on just fine. She didn’t seem that interested in Jim anyways. He’d just lie and say he walked her to her door. He wasn’t going to keep pressing the poor girl until she felt uncomfortable.

“Do you live far from here?” The question caught him off guard and he was sure his expression showed it.

“Not too far, why?”

“It’s just really cold out. Do you want to come in for a cup of tea or something?” Molly tried her best to sound confident as she invited him up. All of her magazines said confidence was a woman’s most important asset.

He hesitated, weighing the options. If he accepted he knew it was liable to bring the wrath of his boss down on him. And that wasn’t something he felt like risking. “I’m okay.” He replied, “I can’t put you out at my expense. I’ll catch a cab and be home in no time. Thank you though.”

“You’re welcome.” Molly bit back disappointment, and reminded herself it was for the best. “Thanks again for taking me home.”

“My pleasure, it was nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you too.” Molly dug the key to her apartment building out of her purse. She waved to him and he returned her wave with a friendly smile before waving down a new taxi. Molly pushed any thoughts of him away once she got into her flat.

It was good he hadn’t taken her up on her offer. It was beyond stupid of her to even suggest he come up to her flat. Jim didn’t deserve that. Even if she had meant it with innocent intentions. Jim had been nothing short of sweet to her since they’d met. He was the first guy to even notice her in a long time. It’d been so thoughtful of him to make sure she got home safe, and she would have felt guilty if she’d taken advantage of that.

Despite her hesitations, Jim was a good guy and seemed truly interested in her. It was only fair to give him a fair chance. Which meant she needed to stop pining over Sherlock Holmes, and she _definitely_ needed to stop flirting with his friend. She had a feeling she wouldn’t have to see Sebastian again anyways. After all, Jim had never mentioned him before tonight, so how close could they really be?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank Daydreamisallihave who left me an especially kind review. I wasn't sure anyone would be interested in this story so it was great to see such kind words. I hope anyone reading it enjoys it as it goes on, thanks again.

Sebastian was waiting for Jim at his flat, settled comfortably in one of the oversized leather armchairs, a large glass of scotch in his hand. He checked his phone and found that he still had no messages from Jim. Jim had ordered him to wait for him at his flat and now it was nearly an hour later and he still hadn’t shown up. Sebastian finished his glass of scotch and poured himself another. It would be Jim’s own fault if he finished off the bottle.

Knowing his boss the way he did, he was almost positive Jim was making him wait for dramatic effect. Honestly, the main thing Sebastian was concerned about was what the phone call Jim had gotten entailed. It was enough to make Jim spare all of their lives, so it had to be something interesting. He heard a key click into the lock so he shot back his drink and waited.

“Well that went splendidly.” Jim wore a wicked grin as he entered the room. “It got so tense there at the end.”

“Yeah, well, you were going to kill all of us.” Sebastian countered with a wicked grin to match Jim's.

“Did you see his face when John Watson came out?” Jim’s dark eyes gleamed with cruel amusement. “The way he ripped that jacket off him.” Jim clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Are you alright?” He mocked the detective in a low voice.

Sebastian knew better than to interrupt Jim when he got on a roll like this. He would just have to wait until Jim brought the phone call up himself. “Oh, and I’ll need you to kill Molly Hooper now too.”

Sebastian was used to Jim switching topics at the drop of a hat. He could change subjects multiple times in one sentence and expect Sebastian to keep up. But that quick change was enough to throw him off. “You want me to kill her?” Sebastian kept his voice flat, emotionless. It was just another job, nothing he couldn’t do. But he didn’t like the idea of it.

“I don’t need her any more. We had quite the falling out on our date tonight. Turns out Sherlock outed me so to speak. Dispose of her.”

“Is that really necessary?” Sebastian knew he’d said the wrong thing when Jim’s expression hardened. His cold stare fixed on Sebastian now. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ll do what you want." Sebastian held his hands up in submission. "But it hardly seems necessary. She doesn’t know who you are, and she’s barely a blip on Sherlock’s radar.”

Jim’s eyes narrowed and Sebastian wished he’d just shut up and not said anything. “You don’t want to kill her?”

“I just don’t think it’s necessary.” Sebastian fought to seem cool and unaffected by the situation. But he was seriously regretting opening his mouth. How stupid could he be? He knew better than to question Jim’s orders. He'd be lucky if Jim didn't kill _him_ as a result of his idiotic defiance.

“Well, are you the one who decides what’s necessary?”

“No.” Sebastian replied obediently. “My apologies boss.”

“Why do you care if I have her killed?”

“I don’t.” He continued to answer with his voice even and obedient, hoping that would bail him out of this mess he'd worked himself into.

Jim smirked and shook his head, his eyes lighting up with an idea. “Christ Sebastian, really?" Sebastian raised his eyebrows, trying to figure out what Jim could be getting at. "You have feelings for her don't you?” Jim’s tone was amused, but his eyes didn’t seem to share the sentiment. Sebastian knew he was trying to taunt him into saying something he shouldn’t. But he’d been with Jim long enough to avoid that trap.

“I don’t have feelings for her." Sebastian scoffed at the idea, keeping in amusement of his own. That would only serve to make his boss more mad. "I just think her life is pathetic enough as it is. She’s not important in your game against Sherlock anymore. So now that her use has run it’s course why not let her go back to her boring life?”

“You’ve never questioned a single one of your targets before. You blew up an old lady the other day and didn’t flinch.” Jim studied him, his expression truly curious now. “But now I ask you to kill Molly Hooper and you suddenly find your moral compass?”

“That old woman was a threat, she knew your voice.”

“Molly knows my voice, not to mention where I live.”

“You're right boss. I’ll take care of it.”

“Just admit it. Something about that boring morgue worker struck your fancy.”

“She seems like a sweet girl. But she’s not my type.”

“Don’t lie to me Sebastian." Jim sneered and rolled his eyes at his sniper. "as if I don’t know everything about you. Just admit it. You want to keep her alive because for some reason that drab girl did it for you. I never knew you'd go for someone so vanilla.” Jim laughed coldly.

Sebastian fought from rolling his eyes, knowing Jim would be sure to find some way to pay him back for it if he did. He certainly didn’t have feelings for Molly. He thought she was a nice girl, cute even, in her own way. But she was hardly anyone to fall for.

“Fine, I don’t want to kill her because I fancy her, alright?” Sebastian lied, snapping at Jim, feeding him what he wanted to hear.

“Now… that wasn’t so hard, was it? Goodness 'Bastian you're so hard to get any emotions out of.” Jim looked pleased, “Fine. I won’t make you kill her.”

Sebastian watched Jim warily, he knew all too well nothing came that easily when dealing with Jim Moriarty.

“Well… hold on.” Jim held his hands up and smiled. “Let me rephrase that. I won’t make you kill her if you go to her and tell her everything. And I do mean _everything_ Sebastian. About me, about my game with Sherlock. Oh, and most importantly that you’re my right hand man and loyal sniper. You can tell her all of that and then admit you have feelings for her. And if she can somehow accept all of that baggage then you can go ahead and let her live. But if not you get to kill her on the spot. Because if you don’t I’ll kill her myself and make you watch." Jim's face contorted into a cruel grin. "And then I’ll kill you. Don’t be stupid enough to think I’m bluffing.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Sebastian groaned. “You want me to tell her everything?”

“Absolutely. It won’t matter because she’ll either be so in love with you it won’t matter to her or you’ll kill her. It’s a win win for me. I get to see how it plays out, and I get to stay here and imagine just how great you are at opening up about your feelings. I wish I could record it.” Jim made a face as he considered if that was possible. Waving the thought away, he smiled at Sebastian. “So?”

_James Moriarty and his fucking games._ Sebastian glared at his boss and nodded. “Consider it done boss.” He replied, keeping his voice even. He knew what the outcome would be before he even went to her flat. And he knew Jim did too. There was no way in hell she was going to listen to the stories he had to tell and then jump into his arms. Nobody in their right mind would.

It was just Jim's latest creative punishment for him having the audacity to question orders. He was making sure Sebastian knew where his place was. But just once he wanted Jim to lose at his own game. It wasn’t even about Molly. He just wanted to see Jim’s face when he found out Sebastian won this round. The problem was, he had no idea how to make that happen, and he only had a fifteen minute cab ride to work it out.


	3. Chapter 3

Sebastian paced outside of Molly’s building for what felt like the hundredth time. His finger hesitated over her apartment number's buzzer and he drew his hand back down to his side. How was he possibly going to explain everything to her? She was going to think he’d lost his mind. And then he’d have to kill her. Or she’d try to call the cops. And then he’d have to kill her.

“Fuck me.” He complained under his breath. Why did he have to get involved with this? He’d never given a second thought to the assignments Jim tasked him with.

So why did he have to get involved with this one? It would have been so much easier to just do what Jim asked and kill her. But he couldn’t. There was something about her and he just couldn’t bring himself to go through with the order. Maybe it was the way she’d continuously surprised him throughout their conversations. When he thought he had her pegged she’d say something to throw him off again. She seemed like a good person. A person who didn’t deserve to die just because Jim had selfishly played on her weaknesses to use her as his pawn.

But then again, plenty of the people he’d killed had probably been good people. That old lady from earlier in the week was probably a good person, but he had killed her without a second thought.

Because it was his job, and because he was damn good at his job. And the reason he was good at it was because he didn’t allow himself to question his assignments. He did what he was told to do, and then he released it, never thinking about them again. They were a target, he didn’t know anything about them besides what he had to in order to complete the job.

But he knew about her. Even in the short time he’d spoken to her last night he knew enough to see her as more than just a target. He knew she didn’t sleep with people on the first or even second date, but she also didn't hold people who did to some impossibly high moral standard. He knew she had a cat because Jim had complained about how much she adored the damn thing. He also knew that she hated scotch but would drink it anyways solely to seem polite. They were little things, but little things formed a view of a person in your mind. And those little things had to be what was staying his hand.

With a deep breath he pressed the buzzer for her apartment and waited. He _needed_ to make her understand to save her, because if it came down to it he knew he’d kill her to save his own life. He’d survived war, and worse, and he wasn’t going to give his life up now for some girl he’d just met.

 

__________

 

Molly nearly jumped out of her skin as the buzzer to her flat went off. She was typing up a blog post, hoping Jim would see it and realize he could talk to her if he needed to. They’d gotten into a big argument when she'd met him for dinner because she’d asked if he was gay.

Though he’d refused she could tell by the way he reacted it was probably true. She only wanted him to understand that even if he was, she would still be there for him as a friend. Glancing at the post she hit publish and hurried to the intercom.

She wasn’t expecting anyone and had no clue who could be buzzing up to her apartment this late. “Hello?”

“Molly, it’s me Sebastian. Would I be able to come up and talk to you?” Sebastian’s voice crackled through the speaker. Glancing down at her pajamas with dancing cats all over them she wanted to cringe. Why would he possibly be here? Could it be he needed to talk to her about Jim? Maybe Jim had done something after he left her and Sebastian was worried about him. Crap.

“Yeah, sure, let me buzz you up.” She buzzed him in and ran to her room. She quickly threw on jeans and a sweater and ran back out to the door, reaching it a moment before he knocked. She smiled and offered a friendly greeting.

“Sorry to bother you, I know it’s late." Sebastian looked genuinely apologetic, if not slightly disheveled. "I really need to talk to you.”

“Um… come in.” She moved out of the doorway, locking the door behind him out of habit. “Why do you need to talk to me? Is it about Jim?”

“Yeah, actually, it kind of is. Can we sit down?” He motioned to the couch in her front room. “Oh, sure, of course. Can I get you tea or something? I have some wine if you’d prefer it.”

Sebastian smiled at her, but unlike yesterday his smile didn’t seem genuine. “I’m great. Thank you though.” Sitting on the couch next to him she tried not to fidget nervously. Just be confident, she told herself, Jim is probably fine and it’s probably nothing serious. “I don’t really know how to tell you this.” Sebastian admitted, cringing as he spoke. “There’s really no good place to start.”

“Is Jim okay?” Molly’s stomach dropped. What if he’d done something stupid, or had been hit by a car walking home because he was upset with her and wasn’t paying attention. She wouldn’t be able to stand it if something bad happened to him and it was partially her fault.

“Jim is fine.” Sebastian nodded. “It’s about who Jim is. Who he _really_ is, and who I am.”

“Okay?” Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to imagine what he could mean by that.

“I’m just going to come out and say it, and please just hear me out.” He waited for a response and when she nodded he continued. “Jim was never dating you to be your boyfriend.”

“So he _was_ gay?” She cut in, earning a sharp look from Sebastian as she did. "Oh my god, are you two dating? I'm so stupid." She felt her face start to turn red and couldn't help how embarrassed she was feeling.

“What?" Sebastian's face gave away his total shock at her deduction. "We're not- he’s not gay… I don’t think. Hell, I don’t know if he’s even straight. If I had to guess I’d put my money on asexual. But I don’t know, it’s not something I’ve talked to him about.” Sebastian answered quickly, going off on a tangent as he was thrown off by her interruption. “Back to the point. He dated you to get close to Sherlock. You were his easy way in. He wanted to get close to Sherlock because Sherlock is something he’s been looking for for a very long time. He’s an intellectual equal.”

Molly didn’t mean to be rude but she hardly believed that. “Jim? You're telling me he thinks he's Sherlock’s intellectual equal? I don’t think so.”

“James Moriarty is a genius.” Sebastian snapped back, feeling defensive when it came to her insulting his boss. “The Jim you know was an act. One of his many disguises he can put on to throw people off of who he really is. Which is a cold and calculating criminal mastermind. If Sherlock Holmes is a genius that chooses to do good then Jim Moriarty is his other half. Two sides of the same coin. Sherlock is an obsession to him, someone he admires deeply. And he used you to get close to him, close enough to be in the same room but not be suspected.”

Molly felt her stomach start to twist as Sebastian was talking. Was he joking? There was no way any of this was true. But why would he lie? And why would he know about Sherlock? She hadn’t mentioned him yesterday in their conversation. “But if Jim is this criminal then who are you?” She didn’t want to ask that question. She felt her heart race as a familiar word found it’s way back into her head. A word that had popped into her head a few times last night. _Dangerous_.

“I’m his right hand man.” Sebastian answered cautiously. “I’m…. his sniper.”

“His sniper?” The word didn’t want to register with her. “As in… a person who kills other people? That kind of sniper”

“Yes. But I promise I’m not here to hurt you.”

Molly slid backwards to distance herself from him until her back hit the end of the couch. “You’re crazy, there’s no way any of this is true.”

“I’m telling you the truth Molly. I _know_ it sounds crazy, okay, I _know_. But everything I’ve told you is true. And I truly don’t want to hurt you.”

“You don’t want to hurt me?” The way he’d said it gave her the chills. “What does that mean? That you don’t want to but you will? You need to leave. I don’t even know you. I’ve only met you one time and obviously I was very wrong in my opinion about you. You need to go.” She glared at him and pointed to the door.

“Molly, you need to hear me out.”

“I don’t need to hear anything you say. I thought you were a friend of Jim’s so I trusted you. I thought Jim was a sweet, kind, man who had feelings for me. So I trusted him.” Her words came pouring out in an angry rush. “Now I’m being told he was only using me to get to Sherlock? And you’re a sniper? You’re absolutely mad, you need to leave.”

“I’m sorry you’re caught up in this…”

“Just get out of my flat. Please.” Molly cut him off. She was not interested in anything he had to say. At best he was insane, at worst he was being honest.

“I can’t do that. That’s why you need to hear me out. Just listen to me. And try not to freak out.” Sebastian saw the way her eyebrows raised as she stared at him. “Jim sent me here to kill you.”

Molly stiffened and then slowly rose off the couch, taking a few steps backwards to distance herself even further from him. He knew better than to stand up or reach for her, so he moved further backwards on the couch. He hoped that distancing himself from her willingly would put her at ease. “I refused to do it, but Jim is not the type of person you say no to. So he gave me an ultimatum.”

“An ultimatum?”

“Look, I like Jim, but he’s a real prick when he wants to be. He got it into his head that I must have feelings for you, which is why I refused to kill you. So he said I can either tell you the truth about everything I just told you, and if you give me a chance you can live. But if you don’t I have to kill you or he’ll kill us both.”

Molly stared at him blankly, and he wondered for a moment if she was in shock. He could hardly blame her if she was. Her lips parted and then shut again and she raised her hands into a stop gesture. “So you’re saying I have to date you? Or I have to die?”

“Basically.”

“Well that’s just wonderful. I can date some psychopath or he’ll kill me. Wow, can you say fairy tale boyfriend? It's what I always dreamed of.”

Sebastian clenched his fist and forced a smile to his face. “So is that a yes?” Not for the first time this evening he really regretted having done this. He should have just agreed to it the second Jim told him to kill her.

He knew better. And why had he done it? To save a girl he barely knew, only so she could hate him for it. Maybe she shouldn’t have dated someone who was obviously gay, or at least pretending to be. He was a fucking moron.

“Absolutely not. Just kill me. Because I’m not dating someone who kills people for a living.”

“Are you dense? Or do you think this is a game?” Sebastian snapped, his patience had worn through. “Before I told you all of this you had no problem with me. Am I right?"

“No, I didn’t have a problem with you. But-“

“No. It’s my turn to talk.” He stopped her. “We even had a very nice conversation in my opinion. So good in fact that you invited me up here to your flat. Did you not?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, is it my turn to talk now?” She glared at him. Sebastian motioned for her to speak, shooting her a cold look of his own. “Yes. I did invite you up here. Because I didn’t know you were a criminal.”

“Yes, but I’m also just Sebastian Moran. I’m exactly who I was yesterday, who you seemed to like just fine considering you wanted me to come up for tea.”

“I did like you, yes. You were funny, and interesting. But I only liked you as someone I saw as a potential friend, so don’t think it was anything else for even a second.”

“Oh trust me I wouldn’t think that. I’m well aware you’re in love with Sherlock Holmes. So is Jim for that matter, which is why we’re both in this predicament.” That shut her up, so he continued. “I’m trying to save your ass. But if it comes down to your life or mine, I’m saving myself darling.”

“Why? That’s what I want to know? Why are you even trying to save me? Why would you say no to one of his orders for my sake, especially if he’s as scary as you’re saying?”

Sebastian contained a sigh. He didn’t know what to tell her, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “I don’t know why. I guess I just didn’t think killing you was necessary. You don’t pose a threat to Jim, you’re not even important to Sherlock.”

“So basically I was too pathetic for you to kill. Lovely.”

Sebastian stared at her, slack jawed, wondering if she was perhaps a bit insane. “You’re upset I didn’t want to kill you?”

Molly scowled at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Thank you for not wanting to kill me. You are _truly_ an amazing human being.”

“Sarcasm… very nice.”

“You’re a jerk.”

“A jerk trying to keep you alive. And starting to wonder why that is.”

“Can you not see how messed up this is? I either have to date you or you’ll kill me. How am I supposed to react?” He heard the way her voice broke and fought from rolling his eyes. Not at her, but at himself. Because this girl, this mousy, shy, pathologist made him feel truly bad for her. A feeling he wasn’t used to in any way.

“Look. I’m genuinely sorry you’re in this situation.” He softened his tone. “I don’t want to hurt you. And I realize it’s fucked up. I fully realize that, believe me. But that’s who Jim is. He loves games, and that’s where it leaves us.”

Molly walked back over and sat on the couch again, lowering her head into her hands. “I only dated Jim because he seemed so nice. And I was hoping if Sherlock saw me with someone else it would make him jealous. I was hoping I’d eventually really fall for Jim if Sherlock still didn’t care. So I guess this is my punishment for being so selfish.”

“It’s not punishment for being selfish. Being selfish doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you human. It’s punishment for becoming entangled in Jim’s web.”

“Fine… i’ll do it.” Molly's shoulders slouched in defeat. As much as she didn’t want to give in and date some murderer, she also didn’t want to die today.

“You need to understand that if we do this, we need to convince Jim you really did have feelings for me and vice versa. Otherwise he’ll know it’s an act and will definitely kill us both.”

“I’ll do the best I can.” She let out a deep breath. She said that knowing it’d be easier said than done. Honestly, she mostly just wanted to punch him in the face, and then punch Jim too. She hated both of them, and blamed both of them for this. But despite hating him, she was genuinely grateful to him.

He could have just killed her. But instead he risked his own life to save her. She could at least try her hardest to keep both of them alive as her thank you. “Can you leave now? I really just want to be alone.”

“Yeah… that I can’t do. If I came clean to you and you had feelings for me would I really leave right after?”

Molly narrowed her eyes at him and sighed, she felt like she was going to start sobbing if she had to speak to him for even another second. “Sleep on the couch then.” With that she got up and hurried to what he assumed was her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Sebastian rubbed his eyes and sighed. He knew he should have just killed her. But now he was stuck in this disastrous mess, with no one to blame but himself. Kicking his boots off, he brought them over and set them by her front door.

Double checking the door was locked, and locking the chain he looked over towards the kitchen area. He stole one of the chairs and propped it underneath the doorknob. Once he deemed the door secure, he then proceeded to check all of the windows in her flat to make sure they were locked and had the curtains drawn.

He didn’t want to risk Jim changing his mind on a whim and killing them both during the night. It certainly wouldn’t be out of character. He also didn’t want to risk that he’d sneak in to check on the situation only to see Sebastian sleeping on the couch. That would also end badly.

But he wasn’t about to push Molly any further tonight. He could hear her muffled crying from behind the door and his stomach twisted guiltily. He rapped lightly on her door three times, and when she didn’t respond he just spoke through it. “Molly. Just make sure your window is locked and your curtains are closed.” With that he left her alone.

Switching off the lights, he laid on the couch, facing the door so he could keep an eye on it. His already short nerves heightened every sound coming from the hallway. Every time he heard footsteps passing by her door it was enough for him to reach for his gun, holding it at the ready.

He didn’t want to hurt Jim. As awful as he could be at times, Sebastian cared very deeply about him. He was a friend. His only friend, truth be told. But if it came down to Jim or himself, he’d choose himself. He was a survivor. He’d been through hell and back, and was still here. That wasn’t going to change without a fight.

Eventually he started to doze off, sleep weighing heavily on him. But when he heard the sound of a door creaking open it shot him right out of his sleep. Picking up his gun he grabbed it and focused his still blurry vision on the front door, which was thankfully still closed, the chair in place.

Spinning around he saw molly standing behind him. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, and she was holding a pillow and blanket held tightly to her chest as she focused on the gun in his hands. Setting the gun back on the coffee table he held his hands up in surrender. “Just a precaution.” He explained gently.

“You’re really that worried he’ll come here?” Her eyes flickered over to the door, narrowing in confusion as she noticed the chair.

“He probably wouldn’t.” Sebastian lied, “Like I said. Just a precaution.”

“I wanted to bring you a pillow and blanket. I felt bad knowing you were out here with nothing.”

Sebastian smiled, and took them from her. Her level of politeness continued to surprise him. “Thank you. Trust me, I’ve slept on worse.”

“Working for Jim?”

“Sometimes.” Sebastian nodded. “But mostly while I was in the army.”

“Oh.” Molly seemed to study him for a moment and nodded. She wondered to herself if that’s where he got some of his bluntness from. “I didn’t know you were in the army.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” He smiled gently, “You don’t know me.”

“Guess I’ll have to now.” She fidgeted, rocking back on her feet nervously.

Sebastian looked at the ground, hiding an amused smile at the awkward pause. “Thank you for the blanket and pillow.”

“You’re welcome.” She gave him a forced smile and then hurried back into her bedroom. She hesitated in the doorway and turned back to look at him.

"Sebastian... Thanks." She fidgeted in place and then walked back into her room, closing and locking the door behind her again.

"Not a problem." Sebastian spoke quietly. Truthfully it had been nothing but a problem.

But if he was given the opportunity to start this all over and to keep his mouth shut he knew he'd still speak up to try and spare her life again. He didn't get many chances to do the right thing in his line of work. But this felt like it was exactly that. Even if it was already a royal pain in his ass.


	4. Chapter 4

When Sebastian woke up he forgot he was in Molly’s apartment. “Fuck.” He grumbled and rubbed his eyes, glancing around the small flat. Judging by the slight haze of sunlight trying to creep in under Molly’s curtains he assumed it was around six am. Checking with his phone, he verified the time and noticed a missed text message as well.

“What’s wrong ‘Bastian you didn’t want me checking up on you?” He tensed at the message, his eyes immediately traveling to the front door. He sighed in relief to see it had held up, though the chair was slightly more loose than before. Clearly he had fallen asleep a bit too deeply, despite his best intentions not to.

Assuming Molly was still asleep he glanced over to the kitchen area and was surprised to see her sitting at the small table.

“Morning.” She greeted, bringing a mug to her lips and blowing on it. “Tea’s on the stove if you want some. Cups are in the cabinet to the left.”

“You’re awake?” He stretched his arms over his head as he stood up and Molly couldn’t help her eyes from traveling to the small strip of stomach that showed as his shirt lifted.

“Should I not be?” She forced her focus away from his stomach and back to his face before he could notice.

“What?” His face scrunched in confusion until he realized what she meant by the inquiry. “Oh, no, of course you can be awake. It’s just… early.”

“I work at a hospital. My hours vary so often my internal clock is probably irrevocably messed up.”

“Makes sense.” He gave her a weak smile. She could tell something was bothering him, but she wondered if she really had the right to ask. She thought about it as he made himself a cup of tea and decided that if she had to pretend to date him she had a right to ask him whatever she wanted.

“Is something wrong?”

His head snapped up from his tea and he met her eyes. “Everything's perfect.” He flashed her a smile, “Chair’s still in place, I told you he wouldn’t even try to check.”

Even though she was putting on a brave face at the moment, he couldn’t imagine she was suddenly okay with the situation they were in. She was trying to hide it, but he could tell she was uneasy around him. Not that he blamed her. He was actually impressed she was even putting on as good of a show as she was. There might be more hope for them than he'd thought.

“You seem more okay today." Sebastian faltered for a good compliment.

“Well, I thought about it a lot last night when I couldn’t sleep. And you said I need to sell this as best as I can. So I will. Even if I hate you, I have to pretend I don’t.”

“You hate me?” He hid the amusement her confession triggered. No sooner had the words left her lips than she looked upset with herself.

“Well... no.” She stammered, trying to find a suitable answer. “Maybe? I don’t know. I try not to hate anyone. Maybe resent is a better word.”

“Fair enough. Just pretend you adore me in public and we’ll be in the clear. Jim has eyes everywhere, and I do mean everywhere.”

Molly felt queasy at the thought and gave Sebastian a grim smile. She just had to keep repeating that it could be worse in her head. Sure, Sebastian was a potentially awful person, and an admitted murderer. 

But at least he was abnormally attractive. If that was the only silver lining to this awful situation, she would take what she could get.

She could have gotten stuck pretending to date some total creeper that made her uncomfortable. At least Sebastian was charismatic. And she _had_ genuinely liked him after their first encounter.

Even though she couldn't help resenting him for their current situation, she knew they were only in this situation at all because he'd risked his life to save her. If Jim had gotten his way she'd be dead.

It was thanks to Sebastian that she was alive and able to dislike him for this uncomfortable situation. _It could be worse._ If she said it enough she was sure she’d believe it eventually.

“Do you want pancakes if I make some?”

His eyebrows arched adorably and for a moment she got butterflies. “Pancakes? For someone you maybe hate?”

Molly hid her laughter, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’m extending the olive branch so to speak. We’re partners in crime now I guess.”

“Well you’re already the best fake girlfriend I’ve ever had.”

“Have you had many?”

“Oh, tons.” He smirked. "But none of them have ever cooked for me before."

“Good. Get ready for some delicious pancakes then.”

“Oh, I’m ready.” He assured her. Watching her take out all the ingredients and get the pancakes together he couldn’t help but smile. Maybe he’d underestimated her last night. She was surprisingly resilient.

Setting a plate of pancakes in front of him she sat across from him with a wide smile. “Try them.”

Pouring a bit of syrup on his plate he forked a large bite of the pancakes into his mouth. “Well damn. I would fake marry you right now Hooper. What did you do to these?”

Molly felt her cheeks heat up at his statement. “They have a bit of vanilla in them. It’s an old secret my mom would always do when she was making me pancakes.” She gave him a shy smile and took a bite of her own pancakes.

“Well, thank you." Sebastian grinned "Like, honestly, thank you. I don’t normally get home cooked breakfasts.”

“What do you normally do?”

“Skip it.”

“Very healthy.” Molly rolled her eyes and laughed. She wasn't at all surprised by the answer.

“I’m constantly working bright and early for Jim, so it’s not easy.”

“It doesn’t seem easy working for him at all.”

Sebastian paused, trying to figure out the right thing to say. He couldn’t blame her for hating Jim. In her position he would. Hell, sometimes he did hate him. But he wasn’t a bad person. He was just bored, and didn’t form attachments like a normal person did. “He has his pitfalls, but he’s a good person.”

“He was going to kill you last night.”

“Only because I argued with him.”

Molly’s eyes widened at his response. “You don’t think that’s an acceptable reason..." She studied him, concern clear in her expression, "Right?” She was genuinely worried about him. Was he brainwashed or something? Or maybe he really was insane?

“Jim told me Sherlock treats you like an errand girl and constantly insults you. So do you hold that against him?

Molly’s fist clenched involuntarily. “You have no idea what you’re even talking about. Even if he’s said insults like my lips were too big. He wouldn’t kill me because of it.”

“You don’t know Jim either. You only know one part of him. There’s some good in him too.”

“Like what?” Molly snapped, his insistence causing her to get angry. “Sherlock saves people, he solves crimes and helps people. What good could Jim possibly do?”

“He saved my life. Which is good enough for me.” Sebastian regretted yelling when she flinched, and he immediately apologized, albeit through gritted teeth. “I was killing myself, drinking myself to death and doing drugs to deal with what I saw during the war. He taught me how to get rid of that fear. How to mentally box that shit up and release it. And then he gave me a job using my skills from the war. He gave me a purpose again.”

Molly stared at him in stunned silence. She began to apologize and Sebastian cut her off. “Don’t say sorry. You don’t know me, I don’t expect you to know about any of that. Just remember not everything is black and white. Sometimes bad people have good in them too.”

Fighting the urge to apologize again, she nodded. Sebastian finished his pancakes and washed his plate off. “I’ll leave you alone now. I have to go report to Jim. He’ll want to know all about last night.” Grabbing his coat from the couch he shrugged it on and then tucked his handgun into the back waistband of his jeans. “Hold on.” He stopped Molly from taking a bite of pancakes. “Hold up the plate and let me take a picture of you. Smile.” Molly did as he asked, flashing a wide grin even if she didn’t understand the sudden photo op.

“What was that about?”

“I just sent it to Jim.”

“Smart.”

“I have my moments." Sebastian smiled at her, "I’ll talk to you later. I’m sure Jim’s going to want to set up dinner with us. That way he can observe us like we’re his toys.”

“Oh boy, I can’t wait.” The thought of it was enough to make her nauseous again.

“Just think of it like your life depends on it.” Sebastian joked, trying to make her smile and failing. Instead, she stared at him with wide, surprised eyes. “Fuck me," He sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously. "That wasn't as funny out loud as it seemed in my head. I’m just a dick." He hurried to open the door and leave before he made another stupid joke. "I’ll see you later.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to get out for you guys. I've had a lot going on keeping me away from writing but I'll try to get them out more often for you. Thanks to everyone reading this story and I hope you all like it as it goes on.

"You clean up nicely."

Molly blushed at Sebastian's compliment as she welcomed him into her apartment. He did too unsurprisingly. She took in his outfit of nicely cut dress pants with a charcoal grey button up shirt that fit him perfectly.

"This outfit is okay right?" She motioned to herself nervously. "You said to dress nice, but not too formal. I wasn't sure exactly what that entailed." She had settled on a black princess cut dress with a drop back.

"You look great, it's perfect. Don't worry, it's only dinner."

"Yeah a dinner my life depends on." Molly sighed. She was already exhausted from worrying about this dinner all day. Now that it was time to leave she felt sick to her stomach.

"Hey, you're not alone in this. You're going to be fine." Sebastian tilted her head up to meet his gaze. "I'm right there with you. You need to stop doubting yourself."

"It's just... If he's as scary and smart as you say what if he sees right through us?" _Or right through me?_ She knew out of the two of them she'd be the weak link when it came to lying.

"Look at me." Sebastian's voice was stern as he asked her to look up at him again. Her eyes met his and he held her gaze. "All you have to do is pretend to be attracted to me. No one would believe we're in love after one night right? But lust? Now that's believable. Can you do that?"

She knew she could. She'd been attracted to him from the moment she saw him. But she wasn't good about projecting that. She was more the keep it inside and suffer silently type. "I think so."

Sebastian laughed, "sorry I'm not easier on the eyes love, but I'll just have to do."

"No, you're fine." Molly's cheeks burned with embarrassment as she spoke without thinking. "I mean... I think you're perfectly fine looking." _Lord help me I'm hopeless_ , Molly internally cursed at herself. "What I meant by that is even though I know I _can_ feel that way, I'm not good at acting like that outwardly."

"Ah, so you _are_ attracted to me at least?" She knew he was only trying to rile her up and she resisted the urge to throw the nearest object at him. "Just take what you'd be like internally and act on it. Live a little. I know it's all part of an act and I'll play along so there's nothing to worry about."

Molly nodded and forced a smile. "Okay. I can do this. I won't let you down."

"Relax love, I'm not worried about you letting me down. I believe in you, otherwise I would have just killed you last night and spared myself all of this trouble."

Molly cast him a sharp look. "You know, as far as motivational speeches go, I'd recommend leaving out the part about how you would have murdered them."

"I never said I'm good at motivational speeches." He shrugged with a wide grin. "I _am_ good at pissing you off though."

"Well, you aren't wrong about that." Molly shot back without hesitation.

"Well just channel that hatred of me and turn it into undeniable lust because we need to go." He helped her into her jacket and motioned for her to lead the way.

"I've never been to a restaurant like this before." Molly admitted how nervous she was as they hailed a cab.

"It's just a restaurant Molly. You'll be fine. Jim's paying so just get anything you want. Trust me, he can afford it."

"But, like, how am i supposed to act like I'm all over you but still act classy?"

Sebastian forced down the smile playing at his lips. He didn't want her to think he was making fun of her, but she was really stressing herself out over pretending to flirt with him. It was kind of adorable, albeit a bit sad. He gave the cabbie the restaurant name and turned his attention back to her.

"Like this" Sebastian leaned in closer to her, his lips close to her ear. "No more talk like that." He glanced at the cab driver and Molly nodded, understanding his meaning. He took her hand, lacing their fingers together and then idly running his thumb over her hand.

"It's all in the little ways you interact and touch each other. It doesn't have to be classless and having you be all over me and gaudy. It's just about always making physical contact or giving each other little looks." Sebastian whispered, his free hand traced her jaw and she thought he'd kiss her for a moment. Her stomach tensed and her heart raced as his lips hesitated close to her own.

"Feel that?" he asked quietly, "That's lust." he pulled away from her and she let out a breath she'd been holding in. Her cheeks heated up and she knew they were probably scarlet.

"Think of it like a game, it built up some tension didn't it?"

"You're honestly the worst." She responded with an eye roll. She hated how willing she'd been for him to kiss her. She had to lock those feelings away immediately.

This was all an act, she couldn't let her physical attraction to him get the better of her. She had to remember it _was_ all a game and nothing more. And she would never want it to be anything more anyways. Not with someone like Sebastian Moran.

"So how long have you two been together?" The cabbie's voice broke the silence between Molly and Sebastian. Sebastian laughed at the question and grinned. "That's a great question mate. Only since yesterday believe it or not."

The cabbie smiled back at them in the rearview mirror. "You two look good together."

"She just makes me look good." Sebastian smiled down at her. He certainly was good at flattery. He was an even better smooth talked than she had thought.

"Smart man." The cabbie nodded, "You found a good one ma'm."

"We'll see." Molly answered with a small smile. "He's okay I guess."

"Don't let her fool you, she can't get enough of me." Sebastian gave the cabbie a wide grin and put his arm over Molly's shoulders. Molly smiled up at him, forcing herself out of her comfort zone and moving closer to him.

Sebastian smiled, this time his smile fixed on her. His index finger idly traced along her shoulder, sending goosebumps down her arm.

"Well, we're here." The cabbie pulled up in front of a gorgeous restaurant. Sebastian pulled away from Molly, fishing for his wallet and giving the cabbie a wad of bills. "You guys have a nice night, enjoy yourselves."

"You too." Sebastian nodded and helped Molly out of the cab. "Let's go meet our matchmaker." He joked, lacing his fingers with hers.

"I think I'm gonna be sick. I haven't seen him since that night I asked him if he was gay."

"I'm right here, I won't let anything bad happen. And remember, we're just trying to make it through this dinner so we can hurry back to your place and rip each other's clothes off." He gave her a look of mischief that only made her stomach seem to flip even more.

"Right. We just want to rip each others clothes off. Got it." She nodded and let out a deep breath.

"Oh, and if it comes up, we slept together last night."

"Like... sex?" Molly felt her whole face grow hot and wanted to hide under a rock. He was going to think she was the most naive person to ever live. Why didn't she ever think before she spoke?

"Yes Molly, like sex." Sebastian gave her a curious glance. "Have you... _had_ sex before?" He whispered the question, one eyebrow raised as he studied her.

"Yes I've had sex before." Molly practically hissed her response at him. She knew her face had to be tomato red right now.

"Okay, I was just wondering. You sounded so shocked when I suggested it that I wasn't sure."

"I already told you, I just don't do that right away. I was caught off guard. That's all." She tried to defend herself.

"Okay, I get it, relax." Sebastian bit his lip to hold back a laugh at her expense. "There's Jim. So smile."

Molly smiled up at him in what she hoped looked like adoration. Sebastian smiled back and leaned down, kissing her hand. "Ah, there you two are. Leave it to Sebastian to be late." Jim clicked his tongue in disapproval.

He gave Molly a wide grin, sending a chill through her. She hated how normal he looked. Only yesterday he was ordering Sebastian to kill her and now he was pretending to be nice to her? She knew he would, but seeing him act so normal in person after what she knew about him now was unsettling.

"We're only a minute late." Sebastian rolled his eyes, "Traffic does happen."

"Yeah, traffic..." Jim's smile turned to something more unnerving. "Or maybe it was something else, huh?" He looked between the two suggestively. Molly felt her agitation growing already at his insinuations.

"That would be nice, but in this case it was just traffic."

"Well from what I hear at the beginning of relationships you should be constantly wanting to tear each other's clothes off. Don't tell me the spark is fading already?" Jim turned his gaze to Molly and she forced a small smile.

"Are we going to stand out here all night discussing our sex life? Or are we going to continue this conversation over some food?" Molly was thankful for Jim averting his attention back to Sebastian after that comment.

"You get so testy when you're hungry." Jim shook his head and lead them into the restaurant. Sebastian followed him, holding Molly's hand and giving her a reassuring squeeze. Jim gave the name of the reservation to the Maitre D and he lead them to an empty back room.

"I booked the room out so we could enjoy dinner to ourselves." Jim explained to them with a shrug of his shoulders. Molly looked around the room in wide eyed wonder. So Sebastian really wasn't kidding when he'd said Jim had more money than any one person would know what to do with. This room must have cost thousands of dollars to book out.

"Oh, of course. No big deal." Molly replied, voice laced with sarcasm which earned her a look of amusement from Sebastian. He pulled a chair out for her and she thanked him as she sat down across from Jim.

She wished Jim would have chosen the seat across from Sebastian. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under his close scrutiny. She couldn't reconcile the Jim she'd known and this new version of him she was sitting across from now.

"So I must say I'm shocked to be sitting here across from you Molly. I can't say I understand what you see in Sebastian." Jim paused, a smug smile playing at his lips. "Especially because he mentioned to me that he told you all about himself. And more specifically he disclosed his skill set and occupation."

"So we're just going to dive into insulting me without even ordering huh?" Sebastian's tone was irritated and Jim cast him a warning glance.

Molly forced herself to keep her composure. "Honestly, I didn't believe Sebastian at first. I thought maybe he was on drugs or something."

"She did." Sebastian played along, backing up her claim without hesitation. "She even offered to go with me to the hospital. She was convinced something was seriously wrong with me."

"Something is seriously wrong with you, she'll learn that soon enough." Jim shot back with a warning glance.

"Trust me, that's apparent already." Molly looked over at Sebastian and smiled. "But I still can't help but be drawn to him anyways. No offense to you of course. I just, really felt a connection with him that night we met."

"And I felt the same way,so I just wanted us to start on the right foot. I don't like starting any kind of relationship with secrets." Sebastian reached over and squeezed her hand, giving her an adoring look. He was good at this. Even she would believe he cared about her if she didn't know the truth.

Molly smiled back, her stomach twisting nervously. "It wasn't easy to hear honestly."

"He's certainly not your average working class citizen." Jim nodded. "And yet you have no problem with the fact that he does whatever I require him to do? Even if that means me ordering him to kill someone?"

"Obviously I have my hesitations about it, anyone would."

"Most women would have called the cops immediately, not jumped into bed with him." Jim's gaze turned more intense as he questioned her more seriously.

"I thought about it." Molly answered honestly, Sebastian's expression betrayed some of his nerves as she answered Jim's questions so candidly. "But honestly, I felt a really intense chemistry with him immediately and after freaking out a bit I reconciled with it after we talked about it."

She was almost telling the truth. Though in actuality she'd only reconciled with it because Sebastian had told her more than Jim would like her to know, not because she had chemistry with him.

"So, who cares that he's a criminal when he's attractive? That's basically what you're saying?"

"It's more than that." Molly shot back defiantly. "Yes, he's attractive. But despite all of the stuff he told me I think he has the potential to be a good person."

"I think you're incredibly naive if that's your train of thought."

"Come on Jim, is this necessary?" Sebastian interrupted them, casting his boss a cold look. "I thought you invited us to a nice dinner because you were happy for us. Not so you could upset Molly."

"Well excuse me for being realistic." Jim rolled his eyes. "I run an entire criminal empire and he does all of my dirty work, including killing whoever I desire. And you're okay with that? I'm not buying it."

"You don't need to buy it." Molly snapped at him, her fear dissipating and being replaced with anger. "But the truth is, I felt stronger feelings for him from the moment we met than I've felt with anyone in years. So if I have to deal with the fact that he's not perfect I will. At least he didn't hide it. To me that shows that he's genuine and could have good to him as well as the bad. So call me naive if you want, maybe I am. Maybe I'm a total idiot. But I can't deny the feelings I have for him."

"Well to say you're not the girl I thought you were would be an understatement." Jim idly drummed his fingers on the table as he studied her.

"Great, I'm glad to hear that, but will there be food at this dinner at some point? Because I'm getting tired of this." Sebastian motioned for the waiter posted at the door to come to their table and the waiter blatantly ignored him.

"Oh, relax." Jim sighed and shook his head. "This is what you have to look forward to when he's hungry. He acts like such a child." Jim snapped his finger and the waiter immediately responded and hurried to their table.

"Get us a bottle of Chateau Lafite 1865 and a basket of bread please. We'll order when you return." The waiter nodded and hurried away to retrieve their wine. "Order whatever you want, I don't mind."

Molly nodded and politely thanked him. He had completely switched from intense and suspicious to being polite to her. She just couldn't keep up with his changing personas. She looked to Sebastian when Jim studied his menu and he gave her a supportive smile.

She appreciated the quick break studying the menu allowed her. She was already completely drained and ready to go collapse into her bed.

"What are you thinking of getting?" Sebastian's voice broke the silence that had settled at the table.

"I'm not sure, maybe the filet mignon?"

"Don't get that." Sebastian leaned close to her and pointed to a different steak option. "If you want steak get the Kobe tenderloin, trust me, it's much better."

"He's right, you'll never want another kind of steak again." She couldn't be sure, but Jim almost looked annoyed that Sebastian had beat him to the recommendation. _Talk about a control problem._

"Okay, I guess I'll get that." Molly smiled at Sebastian, "Thanks."

"No problem." He nodded, "I think I'm gonna go with my usual burger."

"You're getting a burger?"

"Yeah, he's getting his favorite burger that costs 1,000 pounds. Probably to spite me for being rude to you earlier."

"It's not out of spite. It's just to take advantage of the fact that you have to pay for it not me."

"You're joking right?" Molly stared at him in dumbfounded shock. "A burger is 1,000 pounds? Is it served with gold plated french fries?"

"Just trust me, I'll let you have a bite. It's amazing to put it mildly."

"I would sure hope so for that price." She couldn't even fathom paying that much for any kind of food. She could pay a months rent with that amount of money.

The waiter returned with their wine and poured a small glass for Jim to taste. Jim nodded and allowed him to pour a larger glass and to serve some to Sebastian and Molly. Another waiter set a basket of bread in front of them along with a plate of garlic herb butter.

Jim ordered all three of their food, himself ordering the same kobe tenderloin as Molly.

"Here you go Mol" Sebastian passed her a plate with already buttered slices of bread on it.

"Thanks Sebastian."

Jim rolled his eyes at their exchange, "Aren't you two sweet."

"Don't be such a killjoy." Sebastian laughed at Jim. "Just because you don't have a romantic bone in your body doesn't mean you need to be such a downer."

"It's hardly romantic to just butter some bread for her."

"Well, I think it was sweet." Molly responded in Sebastian's defense.

"I think you two are trying to make me sick." She couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was attempting to be funny. But Sebastian's loud laughter led her to believe he was joking.

"You're the one who said the beginning of relationships are always the stage of wanting to impress each other and jump each other's bones so to speak. I can't help it that it's true."

"Yeah, well maybe save that for when you two are alone." Jim glanced at his watch, "Hopefully that will be soon. I don't know how much more of this lovey dovey crap I can stomach. If you give her those pathetic doe eyes one more time I may not even eat dinner."

"You're such a joy to be around boss." Sebastian's loud laughter rang through the empty room. "You don't know him well enough, but thats his way of saying he's happy for me."

"Maybe _you_ don't know me well enough." Jim shot back, same dry sarcasm.

"Oh, trust me, I know you better than you think."

"Maybe you two would like some alone time." Molly's comment caused Sebastian to choke on the sip of wine he'd just taken and Jim actually burst out in laughter.

"You're full of surprises Molly." Jim seemed to take her in appreciatively.

"Well you didn't really get to know me any better than I apparently knew you."

"Perhaps you're right. But that's bound to change now that you're dating my right hand man. I think I'll come to know you very well." She knew he was subtly threatening her, but she kept her composure like she'd promised Sebastian she would.

"I look forward to it." She responded more calmly than she would have imagined she'd be able to.

"I also look forward to it. I'm glad you two get along so well." Sebastian's grin gave away his amusement at their exchange.

Thankfully their waiter brought their food before she had to talk to Jim any more. With any luck, he'd allow them to eat in peace and stop with the suspicious small talk.

Molly studied Sebastian's obnoxiously overpriced burger. Her confusion must have been obvious because he took in her expression and burst into loud laughter again.

"Sorry, it just looks like a regular burger to me." Molly felt herself blush as she apologized.

He pushed his plate over to her. "Try it."

"You haven't even taken a bite yourself yet, that would be rude."

"For fucks sake Molly, you won't understand until you try it. I don't mind. Make sure you take a big bite so you get a taste of the toppings."

Molly picked up his burger, taking a large bite like he instructed. She had to admit it was unlike any burger she'd ever tried. "What's on that?"

Sebastian took her interest as confirmation that she liked it. He pulled the plate back over to him. "It's a wagyu beef burger topped with foie gras and truffle mushrooms."

"Oh, I never really wanted to try foie gras because of how it's made. But that was pretty incredible."

"Told you."

"It's still basically a month's rent for my apartment for a burger, but it was good."

"Stop worrying about the price, Jim can afford it."

"At least she's considerate about it." Jim replied, "in typical behavior you just don't care."

"How's your steak Molly." Sebastian ignored Jim's comment, turning his focus back to her.

"It's really good. I appreciate the suggestion."

"He would know, he's been treated to dinner by me enough times to know what's good."

"Do you two come here often?"

"Here, as well as other places. He knows all of the good restaurants in London so don't let him cheap out and take you on cheap dates. I hope you do to him what he does to me."

"I can't promise that." Molly actually found herself laughing a genuine laugh. "I feel awful even having you pay for all of this."

"Don't. I invited you two out to dinner, and I can afford it." Jim cast Sebastian a side eyed glance. "I would still greatly appreciate hearing stories of karma catching up to him in the form of you demanding he take you to expensive dates. He can afford it also."

"I'm not really the demanding type, but I'll see what I can do for you." Molly joked back with Jim, her stomach still twisting nervously every time she had to talk to him.

Jim was intensely charming when he wasn't so scary and suspicious. It was unsettling not knowing which version of himself he'd be in any given moment.

Not to mention, the Jim she was used to was awkward and bumbling. But the real Jim commanded the whole room and everyone in it.

She knew she was doing okay so far. She was doing way better than she'd imagined she could do. Sebastian being there didn't hurt. He did make her feel more confident and safe. If it had been just her and Jim she wasn't sure she'd feel so confident speaking back to him like she had.

"She doesn't have to be demanding. I'm not an asshole, I'll take her on nice dates whether she asks me to or not." Sebastian rolled his eyes. "You act like I'm an uncivilized animal."

"Don't be so over dramatic 'Bastian. I hardly act like you're an animal. To say you're not uncivilized is a bit of a stretch though don't you think?"

"Well we can't all be as posh as you boss. Some of us weren't raised with a silver spoon in our mouth."

Jim laughed but the smile didn't carry through to his eyes, which were cold and emotionless. "No, I suppose we can't all be. All I'm saying is it's obvious who was and who wasn't."

"Well, I'm done." Molly pushed her plate back a tiny bit and offered a small smile to the two men.

"Nothing wrong with that." Sebastian ignored her and countered what Jim had said.

"No, nothing at all." Jim shrugged, "Don't be so touchy Sebastian. You know how much I value you. Take a playful insult every now and then."

"I'm not touchy at all." Molly toyed with the hem of her dress under the table, doing anything to not butt in on their apparent argument. "I know you're joking boss. I'm just ready to get home soon. I wouldn't mind some alone time with Molly since I didn't really get to see her all day until now."

Molly was so happy to hear him trying to bring the dinner to an end she could have kissed him right there at the table.

"Of course." Jim smiled graciously and waved the waiter over. Jim handed him a credit card and ordered him to wrap up Molly's leftovers. "Well Molly, I'm sorry for taking you away from your alone time with 'Bastian. I just wanted to congratulate you two in person."

"It was very kind of you to take us out for dinner." Molly summoned the manners her mother had drilled into her growing up. "Sebastian is lucky to have you." As much as she hated Jim and knew he was full of shit when it came to his story of wanting to treat them to a congratulatory dinner, she meant the last part.

If what Sebastian had said about Jim saving his life was true, then he was lucky to have Jim. Even if he did terrify her with the mask he wore so well.

Both men stared at her in what seemed to be surprise. "It's been a genuine pleasure Molly, I'll be sure we do this more often." Jim held her eye contact, not so subtly studying her. "I look forward to learning more about you." The comment felt loaded, both a genuine statament and a threat.

"We look forward to it." Sebastian stood up and helped Molly out of her chair like a gentleman. He laced his fingers with hers as they stood together across from Jim.

"Go on, have fun. the waiter is waiting with your leftovers." Jim motioned for them to leave, "I'll finish up the check and be leaving myself in a moment."

"Thank you again for dinner, it was lovely."

"Well thank _you_ for giving this one a chance. I've never seen him be interested in someone, it would have been a shame to see his feelings go unreturned."

"Hey, everyone deserves a chance right?"

"Perhaps they do."

"Come on Mol'" Sebastian gently pulled Molly after him, waving his own goodbye to Jim. He grabbed her food from the waiter as they passed and held it for her.

"I'm gonna flag a taxi, wait here." Sebastian let go of her hand and left her by the door of the restaurant. Molly watched his as he waited for a vacant taxi to come by. She couldn't tell how he felt about the dinner. He seemed more closed off now than when they'd been heading here. Maybe he knew it had gone bad?

But it seemed like it had gone well to her. Jim had even seemed to believe they'd really just had strong feelings for one another. But she couldn't shake the feeling that Sebastian seemed off and he knew Jim much better than she did. Maybe she had something to be scared of still after all.

Sebastian managed to call a car over and waved her over to him, letting her slide into the taxi first. He gave her address to the driver and slung an arm over her shoulders once again just like the ride to the restaurant.

"Are you okay?" Molly questioned him, genuine concern in her features. She knew she shouldn't be worried about him, it didn't truly matter to her if he was okay or not. Or it shouldn't at least.

"I'm fine, why?"

"You just seem weird right now."

"Well you don't know me that well yet you know."

"No, I don't. But I've yet to see you be this quiet even once."

Sebastian met her gaze and reached out, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Don't worry about me, I'm okay."

"I'm not worried about you." Molly tried to play it off like she didn't care, shrugging away his concern.

"Of course you're not." Sebastian held in a laugh, his eyes crinkling with his smile.

"I'm not. Don't fool yourself Sebastian Moran." Molly crossed her arms over her chest, glad they had reached her flat so she could ask him real questions about how tonight went.

"I would never fool myself into thinking that Molly Hooper." He shot back, handing the driver cash and climbing out of the car.

"Seriously though, everything is okay right? Things went well?" Molly studied his expression as she asked him. They were alone on the elevator now, which she figured was safe enough of an area to ask him.

Sebastian cast her a warning look and she rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall of the elevator. She couldn't believe he thought even the elevator wasn't a safe place to talk.

"Can you give me something now?" Molly demanded when they got into her flat. "Because you're acting all weird and mopey and it's freaking me out. Did it seem like it went well?"

"Honestly Molly, I'm not trying to act mopey or weird as you so eloquently just stated. I think it went well. I don't think we're nearly in the clear, he's definitely very suspicious still but it was a really good first step."

"Really?" Molly felt at least a slightly relieved to hear he thought it went well after all. "You were acting so quiet and standoffish all of a sudden I was scared."

"Sorry, honestly nothing was wrong. I was just ready to get out of there. It's been a long day." Sebastian apologized, "You did great though by the way. Where did that attitude come from?"

"Oh god, honestly I don't even know. I just got mad and tired of him being rude."

"I think the whole night was worth it just to hear you get riled up."

"Oh shut up. I don't have to pretend to like you here." Molly teased him, giving him a taste of his own medicine since he always seemed to try to annoy her.

"Who knew you could be so feisty?"

"Well you don't know me yet." Molly used his own words against him and walked towards her bedroom. "Goodnight Sebastian, thanks for helping me through tonight. I really do appreciate that you gave me a chance and especially that you're helping me through it."

"Goodnight Molly. And you're welcome, just keep up what you had going on tonight and we'll be in great shape. I almost don't regret it any more."

Molly laughed and shook her head. "You really need to work on your words of encouragement Sebastian."

"I'll see what I can do." Sebastian laughed with her and waved goodnight as she closed her bedroom door, the lock clicking behind her.


End file.
